The second teen suspect in a September shooting at a crowded Gwinnett gas station was arrested Friday following a police chase in DeKalb County, officials said.
Police believe Haben Araya, 18, is one of two teens who opened fire Sept. 20 in the parking lot of the QuikTrip at 3490 Centerville Highway near Snellville, injuring an innocent bystander. Fellow suspect Abdu Kimo, also 18, was arrested Sept. 30, but Araya remained on the lam until his capture in DeKalb.
DeKalb police spokesman Capt. S.R. Fore said officers spotted a stolen U-Haul truck on Henderson Road around 12:30 p.m. Friday and unsuccessfully attempted to pull it over. They followed the truck until Hugh Howell Road and Tucker Industrial Boulevard, where Araya reportedly left his vehicle and attempted to run away.
“Officers ran the suspect down on foot and took him into custody,” Fore said in an email.
Like Kimo, Araya is now facing three counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting in Gwinnett County.
Witnesses told Gwinnett County police that, during that incident, a white Dodge Journey van backed into a parking space before one suspect stepped out and approached a silver passenger car parked nearby. While that suspect “began to have a conversation” with the occupant, the other suspect then stepped out of the van with a handgun in his waistband, police said.
Surveillance cameras show the driver of the silver car pull forward quickly before the first suspect pulls a handgun from his pocket and begins shooting. The second suspect also starts shooting.
The two suspects then chased after the silver car as it left the parking lot before getting back into their van and fleeing, police said.
An innocent bystander was shot in the foot while pumping gas.
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